The Babysitter (2017)

Posted on March 26, 2018 by vividcolourshorrorblog Standard Reply

Director: McG
Writer: Brian Duffield
Cast: Judah Lewis, Samara Weaving, Bella Thorne

‘Things get messy when you make a deal with the devil’

Cole is maybe a little too old for a babysitter, but he’s willing to make an exception when it’s someone as hot and fun as his babysitter Bee. Convinced by his friend to stay up past his bedtime to spy on Bee, he gets a lot more than he bargained for – the object of his affection is leading murderous satanic cult, from his front room. Cole will have to find all his courage if he is to survive Bee and her friends, and reveal their dark secrets.

This film was so much fun! A very easy-to-watch comedy-horror with some inventive death scenes, a lot of humour and a number of charming (albeit, mostly homicidal) characters. Well worth a watch when you fancy something light. Would make a great double bill with 68 Kill!

The Grinn (2017)

Posted on March 19, 2018 by vividcolourshorrorblog Standard Reply

Director: Matthew Kalamane
Writer: Matthew Kalamane
Main Cast: John Carroll, Sarah Leight, Michka Hawkins

‘It’s my house, I can do whatever I want with it’

Vance wakes up in a house, seemingly trapped, with no memory of how he got there. There is something horrible lurking outside, while an unknown voice on the phone is trying to guide him out of his amnesia.

I wasn’t overly enthused for the first 10 – 15 minutes of this film, but it is definitely worth sticking with it. The acting is rather weak across the board, but the story itself is interesting, unusual and smart. It’s a bleak, unsettling and somewhat upsetting supernatural take on real-life horror. The final act hits you with twist upon twist, and is pay off for the viewer’s patience.

Original VS Remake: My Bloody Valentine

Posted on February 12, 2018 by vividcolourshorrorblog Standard Reply

My Bloody Valentine (1981)

Director: George Mihalka
Writer: Stephen A. Miller, John Beaird
Main Cast: Paul Kelman, Lori Hallier, Neil Affleck

‘From the heart comes a warning, filled with bloody good cheer, remember what happened as the 14th draws near!’

The town of Valentine Bluffs is excitingly preparing for a Valentine’s Day Dance, but some of the older townsfolk are wary; twenty years’ earlier, a miner – Harry Warden – committed a series of cannibalistic murders after going insane when trapped for weeks by a cave in, and threatened to return if a Valentine’s Dance were ever to be held again.

My Bloody Valentine (2009)

Director: Patrick Lussier
Writer: Todd Farmer, Zane Smith
Main Cast: Jensen Ackles, Kerr Smith, Jaime King

‘Happy fucking Valentine’s Day.’

A miner with a screw loose – Harry Warden – is trapped by a cave in, and kills all the other survivors to save himself. He is eventually rescued, badly hurt and comatose, only to wake up and continue his killing spree. He is finally brought down by the police, but ten years later the town is once again beset with gruesome killings. Is Harry Warden back for revenge?

What more appropriate way to celebrate Valentine’s Day, than with a review of the two installments of My Bloody Valentine?!

True Blood (2008 – 2014)

Posted on February 5, 2018 by vividcolourshorrorblog Standard Reply

Main Cast: Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Alexander Skarsgard

‘I’m so over Sookie and her precious fairy vagina and her unbelievably stupid name!’

In an alternate America, where all kinds of supernatural beasties are real and vampires have ‘come out of the coffin’, Louisiana waitress Sookie Stackhouse tries to grapple with her ability to read the minds of everyone around her, and her love for the mysterious vampire Bill Compton.

Bear with me here – I know True Blood is old news, but I’ve only just finished the series. After nine years of my life trying to grapple with this show, it felt worthy of a blog post!

Starry Eyes (2014)

Posted on January 29, 2018 by vividcolourshorrorblog Standard Reply

Director: Kevin Kolsch, Dennis Widmyer
Writer: Kevin Kolsch, Dennis Widmyer
Cast: Alex Essoe, Fabianne Therese, Maria Olsen

‘Ambition – the blackest of human desires.’

Sarah Walker is a wannabe starlet, stuck in a dead end job and surrounded by back-stabbing friends. When an opportunity for a gateway role with a big production company comes along, she’ll stop at nothing to get the part.

One could say that this film takes on a particular resonance at the moment, against the recent headlines of Hollywood power abuses. The influence of The Producer in the film is overpowering, and it is clear that a number of actresses have been manipulated and entrapped by him in the past, just like Sarah.

Alex Essoe’s main character Sarah is very well performed, with the character somehow managing to be both fragile and ruthlessly ambitious all at once. Essoe does a great job of portraying Sarah’s descent into desperation, and I found myself disliking her but rooting for her nonetheless.

This is an enjoyable – albeit perhaps uncomfortable – film, with occult themes and some well-constructed body horror, portraying desperation and depravity in Hollywood.

‘Undead Uprising’ Book Launch

Posted on January 22, 2018 by vividcolourshorrorblog Standard Reply

In an unusual overlap of my real life and my horror-blogging self, a good friend of mine recently hosted a Q&A with author John Cussans about his book Undead Uprising: Haiti, Horror and the Zombie Complex at Nottingham Contemporary. I seized the opportunity to attend and find out a little more about the book.

Undead Uprising addresses the racist and xenophobic portrayals of Haiti in film and literature, specifically through the concept of the zombie. Cussans investigates the truth behind such depictions, and how representations of this kind have contributed to the image of Haiti as a ‘place of primitive superstition’.

Killing Ground (2016)

Posted on January 15, 2018 by vividcolourshorrorblog Standard Reply

Director: Damian Power
Writer: Damian Power
Cast: Harriet Dyer, Aaron Pedersen, Aaron Glenane

‘You’ve gotta make the most of your opportunities!’

A likeable couple, on a New Year’s Eve camping trip, set up their tent just down the beach from what turns out to be an abandoned campsite – a discovery that sets off a chain of horrific events which will see the couple fighting for their lives.